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The description for this spell feels incomplete to me and I'm about to change it for "Any creature targeted with this spell starts singing "You're the one that I want" for 1d4 rounds." Anyway, I have two questions regarding this part of the description.
"A creature can walk within or through the area of grease at half normal speed with a DC 10 Acrobatics check. Failure means it can't move that round (and must then make a Reflex save or fall), while failure by 5 or more means it falls (see the Acrobatics skill for details). Creatures that do not move on their turn do not need to make this check and are not considered flat-footed."
1. "A creature can walk within or through the area of grease at half normal speed with a DC 10 Acrobatics check." Does it have to make that check if it uses a five-foot step?
2. "Creatures that do not move on their turn do not need to make this check and are not considered flat-footed." Are not considered flat-footed? Then when is a creature considered flat-footed because of this spell? There's nothing on being flat-footed anywhere else in the spell's description!
1. I was under the impression that you couldn't 5' step if your movement was impeded; I'll have to double check, but you may or may not be able to 5' step in a greased area. If using a move action to try to move, even if it is only 5' however would need to make the check.
2. Under the Acrobatics skill I believe that the rules mention that while using Acrobatics to move on narrow surfaces or balance a creature is considered flat-footed. Thus if a creature needed to use an Acrobatics check to move within the Grease he would be considered flat-footed.
EDIT: Appearently I was wrong on 2 counts. "You can only take a 5-foot-step if your movement isn't hampered by difficult terrain or darkness." The Grease is neither, only slick. It looks like by RAW you could 5-foot-step, though I wouldn't allow it. If you 5-foot-step however you are still moving within the area and would need to make the check.
And the other count I was wrong on was that Acrobatics states you are flat-footed while using it to move on narrow surfaces and uneven ground, not slick surfaces. However it seems to imply that the spell counts by its description.
But moving with a five-foot step is lower than moving at half speed. Heck, it's not even considered a move action. What does the spell consider as "walking" through the area anyway?
And yes, apparently, it's considered as uneven ground, but why isn't it specified in the spell's description? It's quite an important detail and I can hardly believe Paizo forgot to correct it after four erratas for the core book. I wonder if someone will have a truly solid answer for this, as it still confuses me. I'd like to have it FAQ'd.
Thank you for your answers!
I agree with Ringtail's initial answers.
1. Grease isn't difficult terrain, but if you have to move at half speed, then it requires 10 feet to move into another square.
2. The technical "balance" part of Acrobatics does only refer to "narrow or uneven surfaces," but the short blurb at the start of the Acrobatics entry does say "narrow or treacherous surfaces."
I was also confused by this spell when I first read it, but I'm pretty sure this is how it was intended to work.
Oh, true for #1! You're right! That solves it!
And it does seem to be so for #2 too! Makes sense. Thank you both!
Hi, one of my players cast a grease spell which covers 10ft, so if the enemy is larger than 10 feet(huge or bigger) should the creature get any bonus to their reflex save?
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Hi, one of my players cast a grease spell which covers 10ft, so if the enemy is larger than 10 feet(huge or bigger) should the creature get any bonus to their reflex save?
Technically no, but as a GM your are free to alter the rules to fit your needs.
Generally a +/-2 is a good circumstance bonus to add on situations where you don't have any other guidance on what to do but what to give a bonus or penalty for something.